The Flame in the Woods
by Keijo6
Summary: Two days after the Gang's arrival to the Valley, Littlefoot and Cera's nascent friendship is on the verge of falling apart following a backlash from their families. However, a chilling encounter in the still-strange Great Valley with the unknown brings the two friends together and reminding that there's things in the world none of them have known of until this dark evening.


**The Flame in The Woods**

The dark forms of the nearby trees were all that illuminated the small glade in the middle of the remote forest in the Great Valley. Littlefoot moved silently in the darkness, deeply regretting that he was forced to sneak like a sharptooth among these woods but it was the only way he could meet Cera under these circumstances. The young longneck felt sick at the thought that his and the threehorn's fledgling friendship was being torn apart by the still-prevalent attitude of hers and her father.

Only two days before, he had believed that the five friends' discovery of the Great Valley was the end of all strife and concern in his life but it was only the next day when he had learned of his own grandparents' concern of his new friends. Also, Cera, despite her change of heart fighting the Sharptooth, was still too proud to admit that she wanted to continue her friendship with the four other dinosaurs. Cera seemed unwilling to question her dad and the news of her mother and siblings' fate had only deepened her distress. Against this background, Littlefoot was more than happy to have been able to even get this meeting agreed with the threehorn. Still, there was something in this trip that unnerved the longneck without measure. The woods around him looked different in some way from the rest of the Valley and the cold night and unusual darkness only deepened the impression. The longneck looked around the scene in rising fear until he spotted movement near him. With a relieved if fearful voice, he called to the other dinosaur.

"H.. hey! Is that you, Cera?" Littlefoot called, deeply hoping it was nobody else. Cera's dad had explicitly told his opposition to the duo's friendship, along with the others, and the longneck had no doubt that he wouldn't want to know about this meeting. To his relief, a familiar stern voice called to him from the bushes.

"Who else, flathead? I thought even you could tell a threehorn from a bigmouth!" Cera's voice still brought flickers of bitterness in Littlefoot's mind as it had only been a few days since the duo's extremely hateful and bitter fight. The male had proceeded to forgive her for her help with the Sharptooth but those were memories that would take time to heal, especially if Cera still continued to act like her old self.

"I can but there's no reason for you to act like this, Cera. We're friends, remember, and…" Littlefoot tried to reason with the threehorn but it was clear that she still wasn't ready to talk about things this straightly.

"Just keep that to yourself. We might have saved each others' lives but we are here now. We should stick to our own herds now as it has always been. I came back then only to make up for my mistake in the Mountains that Burn. That's all there is to it." Cera calmed down slightly but it was clear that she was emotionally exhausted by the long days or mourning her siblings who would never return. The very threehorns she had spent her first Cold Times and who had once provided her with everything she had needed. Not even speaking about her dear mother: learning about their deaths had broken the threehorn's initial relief for finding the Valley and overshadowed her appreciation for her friends. Those feelings had been swallowed by emptiness and despair for her family who had went to the Great Beyond far before their times, leaving her behind. Littlefoot could see Cera's distress but that didn't make her words any easier.

"We both know that's not true! You stayed with us the whole time, even if you didn't need to. Despite everything, don't you remember how all of trusted each other and how we joined to save each other from joining our mothers? I know that there was more to your staying with us than mere survival, Cera." A tone of pleading appeared to Littlefoot's voice as he tried to reignite the same flame within Cera that he had seen when they had reached the Valley. He knew that moment had changed Cera for the better but it seemed like the instant rebuke from fate threatened that change. The threehorn took a long sigh as she looked at her friend with a mix of pride and pain. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she knew the boy was right but on the other hand, admitting it vocally would communicate weakness to the other young dinosaur. Also, it would upset the very last family she had left in this world. Due to a momentary thought in her mind, she said something that she regretted immediately.

"Well, there wasn't! I came back to see that you made it back and you did. We saved each other's lives once so we are even now. Now my part with you is done so I no longer need to act like I'm part of your little group!" It was clear that the threehorn felt extremely awkward while speaking but despite that, they managed to hurt Littlefoot deeply due to his personal involvement in forming and ensuring the survival of the "little group". The longneck tried to stay calm but those weren't some words he'd stand at this point. If Cera was still arrogant enough to speak like that, maybe she was right after all. Littlefoot frowned heavily as he answered to the threehorn.

"Alright, I see. If that's what you think, just go away! I've had enough of you already." The longneck said as he turned his back to the threehorn. That move hurt him deeply but so did Cera's words. The threehorn answered with a toxic voice. However, if Littlefoot had been in a more receptive mood, he could have heard that some alarm was hidden in the female's voice.

"Me too. Hope you find your way back, flathead." Cera almost spit the last sentence out and left with a similarly quick fashion as she had initially arrived. However, the longneck didn't see it as he was leaving as quickly as Cera. He walked as if in trance, deeply upset by the last development. When he was sure that Cera no longer heard him, he finally gave in and let tears flow from his eyes. _Why did it have to turn out like this again? Cera can't think like that… does she? Mother always told me that threehorns are mostly troublemakers with little respect to others. Could… could she have been correct?_

The longneck turned his gaze to the sky as he often did when he thought about his mother. Even if the dark canopy of the trees hid the black expanse above the Valley, it didn't hinder the boy's thoughts. It had been her help that had led him to the Valley and he owed his life to her on more ways than any other dinosaur could ever know. Still, the thought of the conclusion of his journey brought a grave thought upon him: now that he had fulfilled their common dream, would she ever appear to him again? Had his arrival in the Valley finally released her from her charge of watching over him? The longneck felt more lonely than he had in weeks, an extremely ironic situation after his and his friends' arrival in the Valley. However, Littlefoot's thoughts were interrupted by a strong, cold wing from the dark midst of the trees.

"I… I guess I should go to sleep but… which way should I go?" The longneck realized that he had left his meeting place with Cera too quickly and he hadn't looked where he was going. Worse yet, he didn't know how big the forest was as this was the first time he had actually been there. The Valley was still a new home for him and he hadn't explored even the tiniest bit of it yet. Littlefoot felt concern rise within him as he looked around him, cowering against a large tree. The young longneck looked around him, seeing the branches of the trees waving in the night wind. Each of them looked like a monster from his mother's old stories or a sharptooth waiting for him to come in. Littlefoot fought to regain his courage as he tried to realize that no one would come to eat him from the forest. Littlefoot tried to slowly get moving again until he suddenly dazed forward. A large branch fell near him, causing him to jump in sudden panic. The longneck quickly ran forward, each movement only reinforcing the young child's panic. After running for a while, Littlefoot found himself whimpering among large and old trees which seemed unlike anything that grew in the Valley. This realization only deepened Littlefoot's fears as his breath slowly grew more stable. The longneck shivered in fear as he saw a large land crawler appear near him but this time he wasn't running. He had gone through far too much to be allowed to be completely broken by an empty forest.

The young longneck looked around himself with a resolute look, determined to overcome his fear. However, despite his efforts to keep his emotions in check, the realization that he was seriously lost brought deep concern on Littlefoot. He gulped nervously and started to walk towards the direction where he expected his home to lie in. The dancing shadows continuously unnerved him but despite that, he knew no one else would find him here. He had to find the way out himself or be lost for days.

Soon despite his initial optimism, the longneck realized that he wasn't going to any more familiar grounds. The forest grew only thicker and darker. Littlefoot no longer saw the ground due to the lack of light and a sudden tripping on a large root released the building despair and fear within him. How was he ever going to find his way out if he couldn't even tell where he was? At this point, he could hardly see anything but the vague silhouettes of the branches, even the space behind them hidden from his eyes. Another cold gust sent Littlefoot to another fearful flow of thoughts. First he had lost Cera and now he was trapped in this strange, dark woods that he could find no escape from. How was he ever…

"It's alright, Littlefoot! Just follow me!" The boy suddenly snapped out from his thoughts as he heard Cera call for him. Her voice sounded unnaturally cheerful and friendly but there was no doubt it was hers. But where was she? And how had she managed to find him in this maze?

"Where are you, Cera? I can't see you anywhere!" The longneck rose to his feet and looked around himself. That was when he saw it: a small, dancing light between the trees. It had no recognizable form but for some reason, Littlefoot looked at it like he was hypnotized. He had never seen anything like this strange glow but at this point, it felt like it would lead him to Cera and solve all his problems. At the very least it would lead him to safety from this nightmare.

The longneck started to quickly run towards the light but somehow, it suddenly turned around and as if in a dream, started to fly away from Littlefoot in a quick pace. The boy shook his head in deep confusion. Things like this shouldn't exist but what else could he do but follow it? The small lantern lighted the forest around it vaguely and it was his only chance to escape. Also, in an extremely curious way, its white fire awakened deep wonder within Littlefoot's eager mind. This was very unlike anything he had seen in the Mysterious Beyond and his memory held no stories of flying fire and the back of his mind tried to warn him from trusting the light. But still, the despair of the moment drove him to follow this strange being, no matter where it went. The longneck followed it through small gorges, sprawling hills and darkened clearings but its glow showed Littlefoot the way. The longneck felt no flickers of doubt as he followed the unknown being into the darkness, the distinct familiarity drawing himself after it.

Littlefoot knew that he was hopelessly lost without his guide. He would never find his way out of this woods if this lantern wasn't going to guide him. Littlefoot was used to trusting others but this wasn't a companion he could talk to or make friends with. Everything about this seemed like a bad dream and wherever the young longneck looked, threatening shadows seemed to be waiting for him. As he looked at a large log and a group of land crawlers under it, Littlefoot started to follow his guide quicker.

After a long while of feverish running, Littlefoot saw a glimmer through the woods which immediately told Littlefoot what was before him. A wide lake opened before the longneck with the light quickly moving in it and staying in the center of it. Littlefoot looked at it in puzzlement, knowing he wouldn't be able to swim that deeply into the lake. For the first time since spotting his new companion, the longneck felt a flicker of doubt. Here he was, following an unknown creature into the unknown and now it was suggesting he should follow it to the water? None of this should have been possible in the first place but then again, Littlefoot had seen a lot of odd things during his short life. Maybe the Valley had its own secrets and helpers as well?

"I cannot go there! I can't swim that well!" Littlefoot called as he looked at the scene before him. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able continue his search. Maybe it would be best if he only turned around and…

"Don't be frightened! Come out!" The longneck felt his heart grow cold and warm at the same time. Even if he couldn't remember that moment, for some reason these were the words his mother had told him on the day of his birth. That forgotten memory made Littlefoot's mind overflow with nostalgia and sorrow as the emotions of that day flowed to his mind. But his mother was dead. How could he hear her voice now? Littlefoot turned to look at the light again and at this point, it seemed to be growing ever bigger and brighter. For some reason, the growing fire seemed to ignite the flames of yearning for his earlier, simple life within him. Even if the occasion made him extremely unnerved and fearful, the voice of his mother brought back the memories when there was only he, his mother and his grandparents. The recent fight with Cera seemed to make those days seem easier and something in the light promised him the chance to return a month back in his life, to a time when he had his mother and not even a knowledge of the arrogant threehorn…

"Littlefoooot… Just follow me!" The voice called again and the longneck's mind became ever more clouded by the soft assurances of the voice. Somehow, the memory of all the events since the Great Earthshake seemed to disappear from his mind as the vision of his mother's loving form took shape in his misty eyes. The flame grew in size and brightness every second but all that mattered to Littlefoot in his trance was to follow the voice into his lost life. A silent splash could be heard as the young dinosaur's leg sank into the shallow waters of the lake. The lure of the light grew ever more intense as Littlefoot walked ever deeper into the waters of the pitch-black lake. The illumination of the white fire pulsated in Littlefoot's eyes, drawing him towards it. In his mind, Littlefoot was returning to his mother's loving embrace even if the scene seemed very different from an outsider's point of view.

When the water grew too deep for his legs to touch the bottom, something seemed to snap the longneck away from his trance. Something seemed to move under his legs, something slimy and quick. Littlefoot quickly awakened from his thoughts and realized that something was horribly wrong. The flame was nearly over him and it blinded his eyes with its intense light. However, it no longer bore a welcoming tone to it. In fact, there was something in it that immediately filled Littlefoot's mind with horror. His mind's eyes burst open and he finally realized the danger he had voluntarily got himself to. He started to splash in the water in panic as he tried to shake away the creatures below him and escape the deathtrap that had been set up for him. A loud cry of horror could be heard from Littlefoot's throat as he desperately reached for the shore.

 _Wh… what is happening? What is all this? Things like these shouldn't happen… except with mother…_

The longneck's struggles became one with his conflicted thoughts as the mysterious force was slowly pulling him under the water. The whole process was agonizingly slow but Littlefoot knew this would be his end. There was no escape from this fate where the light had led him. To be tricked by an unknown creature here… the longneck didn't know what was happening but all of it filled him with despair. That was until he heard a familiar cry from the shore.

"Littlefoot! What are you doing here!?" Cera's voice rang in Littlefoot's ears and even if this could just be another one of the fire's tricks as Littlefoot, was still happy to hear his friend's voice here. However, his cry held a terrified tone as he couldn't explain his friend's inaction before this scene.

"You can see well what is happening! Come help me before it's too late!" Littlefoot cried quickly, his head beginning to get pulled under the surface. The white fire seemed to dominate his whole vision and the water was slowly covering his mouth and nose. To his great puzzlement and horror, Cera's answer was extremely shocking.

"I knew a stupid flathead such as yourself wouldn't be able to save himself even from a sharptooth, let alone from this kind of mess. I guess I'll just take my leave and leave you here to survive alone as you always wanted!" At this point, the longneck no longer knew what to think at all. Even in his conflicted state of mind, he knew this wasn't Cera. But if she wasn't the threehorn he knew, why would the fire send more visions his way if it already had him in its grip? Even if he had his disagreements with the threehorn, hers and his mother's deeds wouldn't be defiled by this monster.

"I knew it! You're not Cera! Get lost and release me from this grip, NOW!" The longneck's fear turned quickly into panicked rage as he fought against the seemingly inevitable enemy. Even if he wouldn't see his grandparents again, he would make sure to at least go to the Great Beyond defending her loved ones' memory.

Littlefoot kicked down below him, trying to get himself free from the grip that was pulling him down. Even through all this, he could gather the courage to try to defend himself from the unknown force that was going to be his end. However, as he finally felt his consciousness fail him, he suddenly felt something grab his paw and pull him upwards All the while a voice rang in his ears.

"Littlefoot! Littlefoot! Are you alright? What happened here?" Suddenly, the young longneck realized that he could breathe once again but he still couldn't see anything but darkness around him. Was this some other sick joke? Was he dead? No matter what, he wouldn't fall victim to the hallucinations again. He simply tried to look around him and answered briefly.

"Just go away! I don't want to see any more of this! Go away!" The longneck tried to move towards the voice but he suddenly started to cough violently. To his puzzlement, he could feel he was coughing water. At this point, the he could start to see colors and the first one to catch his attention was a large form of yellow before him. An angered voice answered him quickly.

"Is that all I get for dragging you the shore?! I saved you and then you speak to me like that! Get real Littlefoot!" The longneck could finally see the heavily offended face before him which still seemed to retain some friendliness, however. Littlefoot started to stutter slightly as he tried to find words to this development.

"C… Cera? Is that really you?" The longneck could feel the weakness in his voice and this time it seemed to come from a faraway place. After the last minutes, his ordinary voice seemed anything but normal.

"Who else? There are nobody else around here and you wouldn't be either it weren't for me! What happened here!?" Cera looked at the longneck clearly in deep concern, not understanding at all what had happened. First Littlefoot had escaped, then she got lost and soon she had heard the longneck's cries in the distance. When she had arrived, she had seen him being pulled under the surface, probably by a large scaly swimmer, and the place seemed unnaturally lighted, as if during a sunset when the rays of the Bright Circle move ever further over the horizon. For a very brief, fleeting moment, she had wondered whether to help him at all due all of the duo's battles, but after a moment of thinking, her answer was clear. Even if she had tried to bury that thought at first, she knew Littlefoot had given her something too valuable to turn her back at him first.

Littlefoot had been his first friend and despite the duo's fights during the journey to Great Valley, she had learned to respect and even like the longneck. She hadn't been forced to realize it until his survival seemed to be in her hands. At that moment, Cera realized how her life would have been if he had never met the male. Even if she weren't killed alongside her siblings, her life would have been much more boring and the longneck had opened her eyes of many different issues during their time together. All of that knowledge had finally come to her on this nightly adventure even if the threehorn could understand nothing about what was going on. She looked at Littlefoot in concern as he answered.

"But… didn't you see the fire and the things that attacked me in the water? Didn't you hear the voices the fire did?" Littlefoot shuddered and clear horror could be seen glimmering in his eyes. The threehorn could also feel her own heart grow cold as she looked around herself, at the pitch-black depths of the forest around her from which a freezing wind blew towards her. She had always been told not to believe in anything you couldn't see but at this point, Cera couldn't help but feel the chill from Littlefoot's words. Still, she tried to keep her usual mask and tried to calm down the situation.

"You must have hit your head, Littlefoot. I admit that this place is creepy and there was something in the water but those things don't happen! A threehorn doesn't…" Cera was interrupted by deep breathing from Littlefoot as he looked as his legs. There were clear bruises in them, as if something had dragged them with a heavy force. At this point, even Cera couldn't say what she should think. Those bruises fit the longneck's tale perfectly but it was impossible. These things simply didn't happen. Littlefoot, however, cowered instinctually further away from the water tears of horror started to fall down his cheeks.

"The fire led me here and I heard yours and mother's voices call to me… and then I was dragged towards the bottom! It was terrible, Cera. Just believe me…" The threehorn felt sick at hearing Littlefoot like this and even if she would usually use this situation to her full advantage, none of that appeared to Cera's mind at this point. She even felt sympathy to the longneck for what he had apparently just gone through. One lesson from her father came quickly to her mind as she tried to come to terms with this situation.

"Dad once told me, even if it was just a warning of the other herds' stupidity, that some longnecks and swimmers believe that there is one day during a Cold Time where things that cannot be explained can happen. Even bad things. This could be it, even if a threehorn doesn't actually believe in them!" Cera tried to quickly regain her usual confidence but it didn't succeed very well. He had never seen Littlefoot this shocked and she couldn't feel that the stories haunted her at this point. The male started to slowly calm down and he tied to look at Cera in a thankful expression.

"My mother always told me to keep an open mind and I know that you won't believe me but she showed herself to me long after the Great Earthshake. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her guidance. I guess she isn't the only thing strange thing that can happen." Littlefoot tried to put on a forced smile to his face as he revealed the source of his perseverance during the five friends' journey. Cera looked at him in surprise, still feeling the sting of guilt at the words she had said to Littlefoot about his mother but she could see that she meant a lot more to Littlefoot than she had ever known. Her mind told her to reject Littlefoot's words as pure madness caused by his stress but in her moment of weakness, Cera didn't know what to think. Either her friend was insane or she would have to adjust her own thinking which she wasn't willing to do at this point.

"I always wondered what kept you going but your words are a bit too crazy for me to believe. Anyway, let's go. I don't want to stay here for any longer than I have to." Cera said to her friend who looked at her in deep puzzlement. Did Cera actually mean what she said?

"Cera… do you…" Littlefoot started in astonishment as he contemplated about the threehorn's words. The female quickly turned around and tried to silence the longneck before he could get any ideas. Her voice was sharp but the boy could see that they weren't what Cera was truly thinking. Behind those words and the aggressive expression was something that told Littlefoot that the crisis between the two friends was over.

"Yes but only because you wouldn't survive a day without me! I know I can get dad to see that you need overseeing from a threehorn if you wish to survive!" Her eyes turned into a slightly joking expression as she answered. In truth, Cera only now realized what her life would be without her friends and that her time with them would continue even in the Valley. Littlefoot returned a warm smile as he realized what was just transpiring. Somehow, the breaking-up of the group of friends he had made was resolved. He was about to answer when a long, wailing cry could be heard from the depths of the forest. Both of the friends turned to look at that direction and they got reminded of the place they still were in.

"I… I think we should go now." Littlefoot said in a meek voice, the rest of his courage being drained from him. After today's events, he would never look at the unknown in the same way. He had grown to believe he had only met his mother inside his own heart but if there were flying lights, could he have actually met her during his journey? Were there more of these spirits in the world, only waiting to reveal themselves when they wished or could? The implications of that were too much for the longneck to handle at this point. All he wanted anymore was to return home to calm down and tell the rest of his friends about his and Cera's final reconciliation.

"Yeah… I wouldn't want to face whatever made that noise." The two friends nodded to each other and started to run quickly towards the direction where their home most likely was. Even if only one of the friends had faced an unexplainable being tonight, both of them would forever remember this most sinister of nights. The night when the echoes of the distant past returned to walk the darkening land.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this little break from my main stories! This is an early Halloween-themed response to the Gang of Five October prompt challenge, meaning it is a kind of a horror fic set right after the Gang's arrival in the Valley. It was a bit hard to plan out at first but I hope you find the result enjoyable! :) Also, the next chapter for Under the Scarlet Banner should be finished in the coming days.**


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